Mumbai: ‘Missing’ rogue caterer arrested... from home!

Hitesh Rathod, owner of Yash Caterers, in police custody

In a huge relief for all victims of the brazen con carried out by a caterer in Kandivli, Senior Police Inspector Gyaneshwar Ganore swiftly nabbed Hitesh Kanjibhai Rathod, within a mere 48 hours of taking charge, something his predecessor failed to do. Rathod, a caterer turned fugitive, had been roaming freely for the past two months after conning scores of people out of crores. On Monday night, around 11 pm, Kandivli police arrested Rathod from his residence in Mira Road. Rathod had been operating Yash Caterers in Kandivli, from where he disappeared on December 11, 2023, leaving behind a note.

Hitesh Rathod

Speaking to mid-day, Senior Inspector Gyaneshwar Ganore of Kandivli police station said, "We traced Rathod to his residence in Mira Road on Monday night around 11 pm. We have produced him in court and remanded him to police custody until February 9. We are currently interrogating him." According to police officials, four months ago Rathod had organised catering events. He had invited hundreds of people to taste the food for catering at the weddings. About 25-30 people booked their dates and made advance payments to Rathod.

On December 11, Rathod left a note stating that he was in debt and was unable to repay the money he had taken from hundreds of people. The Kandivali police registered a missing complaint on December 12 and began their investigation. By December 14, complaints started coming in from multiple families claiming Rathod had absconded with their money. After a couple of weeks, Rathod resurfaced and met several people in Kandivali to settle the money owed to them. He promised to return the money, but as of now, he has not paid back a single rupee. Mid-day had reported multiple stories highlighting how the Kandivli police had not taken action nor made efforts to locate Rathod.

FIR registered

On December 22, the Kandivli police registered an FIR against Rathod and started their investigation. Rathod informed the police that he was returning home while he was in Surat. Subsequently, after the FIR was registered, Rathod moved around Mumbai and approached the session court for anticipatory bail, which was rejected in January. Despite a series of articles by this paper, the former Senior PI Vishwasrao, who was supervising the investigations, continued to maintain that Rathod was untraceable. People who lost their hard-earned money and had to make last-minute food arrangements claimed that Rathod had been freely moving in the area, right under the nose of Kandivli police.

Reshuffle in police dept

A couple of days back, due to some reshuffle within the Mumbai police department, Senior Inspector Vishwasrao was transferred to another police station, and Senior Inspector Ganore was appointed as the new in-charge. After Ganore assumed his post, he received information about the absconding accused Rathod and on Monday night, a team from the Kandivali police visited Rathod's Mira Road residence and apprehended him.

Victims share ordeal

A bride, who had paid Rs 30 lakh to Rathod and filed an FIR, said, "We visited the police station several times for updates but did not receive any responses from the previous Senior PI. Now, we are pleased that Rathod has been arrested after the appointment of Ganore. Our hopes have been revived to recover our money." Another complainant said, "We also gave R39 lakh to Rathod for the marriage, but he absconded. We are hopeful with the appointment of Ganore, we will receive our money back. There are several individuals who have not yet filed an FIR or reported their complaints, but we anticipate more complaints to come after his arrest."

Dec 11
Day Rathod went missing

Feb 5
Day Rathod was arrested